Well, it's all moot now. I've had the gyro up for sale for awhile as I
needed the cash when a family partner backed out of a deal AFTER I
signed the lease for a store in downtown......I mean uptown Charlotte.
The guy made me an offer last Thursday evening that I accepted and came
to get the gyro on Friday the 13th. Maybe that should have told him
something. He told me he was signed off by a gyro CFI, and after a few
laps around the pattern after paying me, he decided to cut short the
familiarization and head home to Ohio. There was a slight crosswind
and I told him to lean the cyclic into the wind until the small rudders
became effective. The nose wheel steering is very springy and almost
nonexistant. He spun up and started drifting left toward a small farm
building. He lifted off and immediately made a sharp left turn
downwind instead, climbed about 75 feet, got behind the power curve and
came down like a flying manhole cover. He walked away unscathed, but
the ship was totally destroyed. You can see what this beautiful
classic looked like before he trashed it by going to
www.barnstormers.com and doing a search with "J-2." The pics will be
up for a few more days. I know I couldn't feel as bad as he does, but
I was sick seeing such a beautiful craft destroyed. Thanks for
everyone's help anyway.


Ron Wanttaja wrote:
Kensandyeggo wrote:
... I replaced it with an ICOM A-200 and a brand new Comant
antenna, or rather a radio guy did. He can't figure out why there is a
constant hash noise.

A couple of questions for Ken:

1. Can you verify that you didn't have the "hash" with the old radio?
2. How do the spark plug wires attach to the plugs? If it's just a simple
clip, then you indeed have an unshielded ignition system. But if you have to
turn a nut on the plug wire to remove it from the plug, you've got at least a
shielded harness and plug.
3. Does the noise vary with engine RPM, and does it literally sound like
popping? "Hash," to me, implies a hissing type noise. Does the noise stop if
the engine isn't running?
4. Does anything else in the aircraft affect it? Several years back, I was
having a bad interference problem on my comm radio. Turned out it was crap from
the transponder, leaking into the radio via a gap in its case. A handful of
aluminum foil fixed the problem.

If the noise seems dependent on engine RPM, you probably have an ignition
shielding problem...especially if you can verify the lack of a shielded plugs
and mags. The good news is that this is fixable...a new set of plugs, mags, and
harnesses will do the trick. The bad news is, it'll cost a bundle.

Here's a link that may help:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/fe...tm#radio_noise

Ron Wanttaja